Disk singulating apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for discharging disks from the bottom of a stack of aligned disks one at a time is provided. The apparatus includes a pair of feed gate subassemblies supported in a spaced apart, diametrically opposing relationship so as to define a disk receiving opening therebetween. The feed gate subassemblies are adapted to cooperatively support the stack of disks in the disk receiving opening and sequentially engage opposing portions of the outer peripheral edge of the disk positioned at the bottom of the stack of disks so as to cause the bottom disk to be discharged from the stack of disks.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/968,533,filed Nov. 12, 1997.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to optical disk handlingdevices, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to anapparatus for separating a single optical disk from the bottom of astack of optical disks for the purpose of labeling, packaging,duplicating, inspecting, or performing other processing steps on theseparated optical disk.

2. Brief Description of the Related Art

An optical disk is a storage medium that holds information in the formof a pattern of marks on a platter. An optical-disk drive in turn reads,erases, or writes data on the disk with a laser beam. Examples ofoptical disks include CD-Audio, CD-Video, CD-ROM, CD-R, WORM, DVD, andDVD-ROM. The use of optical disks for storing data has evolved rapidlyin recent years and continues to evolve in that optical disks are ableto store a large amount of information in a small space and opticaldisks are extremely durable with some types of optical disks expected tolast many decades.

Optical disks are generally fabricated of a clear plastic base impressedon one side thereof with information. A reflective layer of aluminum,gold, or the like is then applied to the base and covered with a lacquercoating for protection. During the final stages of production, the diskis printed with graphics, inspected, and packaged.

In order to meet the high demand for optical disks, large numbers ofoptical disks must be rapidly produced. Therefore, devices have beendesigned to hold such disks in bulk and to individually feed the disksto various pieces of production equipment. Such devices typicallyinclude a robotic swing arm provided with a vacuum system which removesthe optical disk positioned on the top of a stack of disks, delivers theremoved disk to the processing equipment, and then returns to remove thenext disk. While these types of devices have achieved varying degrees ofsuccess, their inherent complexity results in a device that is expensiveto manufacture and requires a high degree of attention to maintain. Inaddition, by removing the disk from the top of the stack, operation ofthese devices must be periodically interrupted to replenish the supplyof disks, or the device must be provided with a carousel mechanismadapted to hold multiple stacks of optical disks. To this end, it wouldbe desirable to be able to separate the disk located at the bottom ofthe stack whereby one stack could be continually replenished withouthaving to halt production.

Several devices have previously been proposed for removing a disk-likeobject from the bottom of a stack. One such device is disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 5,050,023, issued to H. D. Ashby, the present inventor. TheAshby '023 patent discloses a mechanism for separating a floppy diskettefrom the bottom of a stack of floppy diskettes. The mechanism includes apair of opposing feed subassemblies which function to position a pair ofopposing, wedge-shaped ribs between the bottom diskette and the adjacentdiskette so as to support the stack while allowing the bottom disketteto be released from the stack.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,436, issued to H. D. Ashby, discloses the use of asimilar mechanism for separating a PC card from the bottom of a stack ofPC cards.

While such mechanisms have successfully met the need for rapid andreliable handling of diskettes and PC cards, problems are encounteredwhen attempting to employ the same mechanism for separating opticaldisks. It has been found that these problems stem from the structuraldifferences between diskettes and PC cards relative to an optical disk.In addition to the obvious difference that diskettes and PC cards aresquare and rectangular in shape while an optical disk is circularlyshaped, the outer peripheral edges of the jackets of diskettes and PCcards are slightly rounded. This results in a peripheral notch orindentation being formed between each diskette or PC card when thediskettes and PC cards are aligned in a stack. The formation of thisnotch provides an accessible space into which a wedge member can beeasily inserted to separate adjacent diskettes or PC cards. In contrast,the outer peripheral edge of the plastic base of an optical disk issubstantially squared relative to the opposing planar faces of the base.As such, when optical disks are arranged in a stack with the outerperipheral edges aligned, there is no readily accessible space providedbetween the optical disks into which a wedge device can be reliablyinserted to separate adjacent optical disks.

To this end, a need exists for an apparatus which can separate anoptical disk from the bottom of a stack of optical disks withoutaffecting the integrity of the disk, and which has a minimum of movingparts to provide low cost maintenance while reliably handling largenumbers of optical disks. It is to such an apparatus that the presentinvention is directed.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an apparatus for dischargingoptical disks from the bottom of a stack of aligned optical disks one ata time. The apparatus includes a pair of feed gate subassembliessupported in a spaced apart, diametrically opposing relationship so asto define a disk receiving opening therebetween. The feed gatesubassemblies are adapted to cooperatively support the stack of opticaldisks in the optical disk receiving opening and abuttingly engage atleast a portion of the outer peripheral edge of the optical diskpositioned at the bottom of the stack of optical disks to discharge thebottom optical disk from the stack of optical disks.

Each feed gate subassembly includes a cylinder, a support flange, aclamp block, and a spring. Each cylinder has a piston slidably disposedtherein so as to be adapted for reciprocating movement relative to thecylinder and a piston rod having one end connected to the piston so thatthe piston rod is reciprocatingly movable relative to the cylinder. Thepiston rods extend in a radially inward direction toward the diskreceiving opening. The support flanges are rigidly connected to thecylinder and extendible into the disk receiving opening for supportingthe stack of optical disks. The clamp blocks are connected to a distalend of the piston rod and have an inwardly extending lip which has anedge engaging surface and a stack support surface. The clamp blocks arepositioned relative to the support flange so that the edge engagingsurface of the clamp blocks are abuttingly engagable with a portion ofthe outer peripheral edge of the optical disk positioned at the bottomof the stack of optical disks and supported by the support flange uponmovement of the clamp blocks to a disk engaging position.

The springs resiliently bias the cylinders and the support flanges in aradial inward direction such that the support flanges extend into thedisk receiving opening a distance sufficient to support the stack ofoptical disks when the edge engaging surfaces of the clamp block is in anon-engaging relationship relative to the outer peripheral edge of thebottom optical disk. The springs additionally permit the cylinders andthe support flanges to slide in a radial outward direction such that thesupport flanges are moved to a non-supporting position relative to thestack of optical disks upon actuation of the clamp blocks to the diskengaging position.

The apparatus includes means for selectively actuating the clamp blockof one of feed gate subassembly into the edge engaging position to movethe bottom disk laterally relative to the remainder of the stack ofdisks. This in turn causes the cylinder and the support flange of thefeed gate subassembly to move in the radial outward direction such thatthe support flange of the feed gate subassembly is moved to thenon-supporting position to free the bottom disk of the support flange ofthe first feed gate subassembly while the stack support surface of theclamp block of the feed gate subassembly is maintained in a positionbeneath at least a portion of the adjacently disposed disk to supportthe remainder of the stack of disks. The apparatus further includesmeans for selectively actuating the clamp block of the other feed gatesubassembly into the edge engaging position, subsequent to the supportflange of the first feed gate subassembly moving to the non-supportingposition, to move the bottom disk laterally relative to the remainder ofthe stack of disks. This in turn causes the cylinder and the supportflange of the second feed gate subassembly to move in the radial outwarddirection such that the support flange of the second feed gatesubassembly is moved to the non-supporting position to free the bottomdisk of the support flange of the second feed gate subassembly and thusdischarge the bottom disk from the stack while the stack support surfaceof the clamp block of the second feed gate subassembly is maintained ina position beneath at least a portion of the adjacently disposed disk tocooperate with the stack support surface of the first feed gatesubassembly to support the remainder of the stack of disks.

The objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an optical disk.

FIG. 1A is a fragmental, side elevational view of a stack of opticaldisks.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway, perspective view of a singulatingapparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a plan view of the bottom side of an upper portion of thehousing.

FIG. 3B is a plan view of the top side of a bottom portion of thehousing.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the housing.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway, side elevational view of one of the feedgate subassemblies.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway, top view of the feed gate subassembly ofFIG. 5.

FIGS. 7A-7D are partial cutaway, side elevational views of thesingulating apparatus of the present invention illustrating thesequential operation of the singulating apparatus in discharging anoptical disk from the bottom of a stack of optical disks.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the singulating apparatus of the presentinvention shown incorporated with a bagging machine.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional representation of a pair of side railsshowing an optical disk disposed therebetween.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a singulatingapparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11A is a plan view of the bottom side of an upper portion of thehousing.

FIG. 11B is a plan view of the top side of a bottom portion of thehousing.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the housing.

FIG. 13 is a partially cutaway, side elevational view of one of the feedgate subassemblies.

FIG. 14 is a partially cutaway, top view of the feed gate subassembly ofFIG. 13.

FIGS. 15A-15F are partial cutaway, side elevational views of thesingulating apparatus of the present invention illustrating thesequential operation of the singulating apparatus in discharging anoptical disk from the bottom of a stack of optical disks.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a disk conveying apparatus constructedin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a partially cross sectional view of the disk conveyingapparatus of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a disk valve assembly constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 19A is a cross sectional view of the disk conveying apparatus takenalong line 19A--19A in FIG. 16 illustrating the disk valve assembly in aclosed position.

FIG. 19B is a cross sectional view of the disk conveying apparatus takenalong line 19A-19A in FIG. 16 illustrating the disk valve assembly in anopen position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, showntherein is an optical disk 10. "Optical disk" as used herein means anystorage medium that holds information in the form of a pattern of markson a platter. Examples of optical disks include CD, CD-ROM, CD-R, WORM,DVD, and DVD-ROM. The optical disk 10 generally includes a clear plasticbase 18 into which information is impressed in or otherwise formed onone side thereof. The base 18 includes a central opening 19, a pair ofparallel, planar surfaces 20 and 22, and an outer peripheral edge 24. Areflective layer, typically aluminum, is applied to the one of theplanar surfaces 20 or 22 of the base 18 and the reflective layer iscovered with a lacquer coating for protection.

FIG. 1A depicts a portion of a plurality of optical disks 10 aligned andarranged in a stack 26. The stack 26 includes a top disk 10a and abottom disk 10b. As best illustrate in FIG. 1A, the outer peripheraledge 24 of each optical disk 10 extends between the planar surfaces 20and 22 in a substantially perpendicular relationship relative thereto.As such, when the optical disks 10 are aligned and stacked as shown inFIG. 1A, there is no readily accessible space provided between adjacentoptical disks 10 along the periphery of the optical disks 10 into whicha wedge can be accurately inserted to separate adjacent optical disks.

Referring now to FIG. 2, shown therein is a disk singulating apparatus30 constructed in accordance with the present invention. The disksingulating apparatus 30 is particularly well adapted for separating ordischarging an optical disk from the bottom of a stack of alignedoptical disks, such as the stack 26 illustrated in FIG. 1A. The disksingulating apparatus 30 includes a pair of feed gate subassemblies 32and 34 (shown in phantom) supported in a housing 36 in a spaced apart,diametrically opposing relationship.

With reference to FIGS. 2-4, the housing 36 includes a first portion 38and a second portion 40. The first portion 38 is a plate member havingan opening 42 formed therethrough and a pair of diametrically opposedrecesses 44 and 46 formed on one side thereof. Likewise, the secondportion 40 is a plate member having an opening 48 formed therethroughand a pair of diametrically opposed recesses 50 and 52 formed on oneside thereof.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the first and second portions 38 and 40 aresecured together with the openings 42 and 48 aligned with each other toform a disk receiving opening 54 and the recesses 44 and 46 of the firstportion 38 superimposed on the recesses 50 and 52 of the second portion40 to form a cavity 55 which is in open communication with the diskreceiving opening 54. Each side of the cavity 55 has a bore portion 56,a counter bore portion 57, an enlarged inner portion 58, and an enlargedouter portion 59. The diameter of the disk receiving opening 54 issufficient to permit an optical disk to pass freely therethrough.

As shown in FIG. 2, a rack assembly 60 is mounted to the housing 36 forguiding a stack of optical disks into and through the disk receivingopening 54 of the housing 36. The rack assembly 60 is shown herein toinclude a plurality of support rods 62 mounted to the housing 36 aboutthe periphery of the disk receiving opening 54 to define a disk feedchannel 64.

In use, a stack of optical disks, such as the stack 26, is loaded intothe disk feed channel 64 and supported in the disk receiving opening 54of the housing 36 by the feed gate subassemblies 32 and 34 which aresupported in the cavity 55 of the housing 36 on diametrically opposingsides of the disk receiving opening 54. In addition to supporting thestack of optical disks, the function of the feed gate subassemblies 32and 34 is to release or discharge the optical disks from the bottom ofthe stack one at a time. The feed gate subassemblies 32 and 34 assurethat only a single disk will be discharged from the stack at one time,while the remainder of the disks in the stack remain supported and inposition so that upon the release of the bottom disk, the next disk inthe stack, which is now the bottom disk, is in position to be releasedin accordance with a programmed sequencing.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway, side elevational view of the feed gatesubassembly 32 supported in the housing 36, and FIG. 6 is a top view ofthe feed gate subassembly 32. The feed gate subassemblies 32 and 34 areidentical in construction and operation. Thus, only the feed gatesubassembly 32 will be described in detail hereinbelow with reference toFIGS. 5 and 6.

The feed gate subassembly 32 comprises a cylinder 66, a support plate68, a clamp block 70, and a spring 72. The cylinder 66 is preferably asingle-acting, pneumatic cylinder of conventional design with aninternal piston 74 which selectively extends and retracts a piston rod76 when attached to a controlled pressurized air supply (not shown) atan end 78 of the cylinder 66 via a conduit 77 (FIGS. 2 and 6). Thecylinder 66 is slidably disposed in the bore portion 56 (FIG. 4) and thecounter bore portion 57 of the cavity 55 of the housing 36. The pistonrod 76 extends from an end 79 of the cylinder 66 in a radially inwarddirection toward the disk receiving opening 54.

It should be noted that while the cylinder 66 is preferablypneumatically actuated, other types of actuation, including hydraulicand electrical, can be employed, but are less preferred. It should alsobe noted that while the cylinder 66 is preferably supported in thehousing 36 described above, the cylinder 66 could alternatively beslidably supported in a cylinder block in a manner disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 5,050,023, issued on Sep. 17, 1991, to H. D. Ashby, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

The support plate 68 is an L-shape member having a connecting flange 80and a support flange 82. The connecting flange 80 is rigidly secured tothe end 79 of the cylinder 66 whereby the piston 74 and the piston rod76 are reciprocatingly movable relative to the cylinder 66 and thesupport plate 68. The support flange 82 has an arcuate peripheral edge84, which is configured to conform to the contour of a portion of theouter peripheral edge 24 of the optical disk 10 (FIG. 1). The supportplate 68 is slidably disposed in the enlarged inner portion 58 (FIGS. 4and 6) of the cavity 55 of the housing 36 so as to permit reciprocatingmovement of the support plate 68 therein. The support flange 82 isextendible into the disk receiving opening 54 for supporting a stack ofoptical disks such as the stack 26 (FIG. 1A).

The spring 72 is mounted in the counter bore portion 57 of the cavity 55and extends about the cylinder 66 so that one end of the spring 72 bearsagainst the end of the counter bore portion 57 and the other end of thespring 72 bears against the back side of the connecting flange 80. Theresilient bias of the spring 72 tends to bias the support plate 68 andthe cylinder 66 radially inward, thereby extending the support flange 82of the support plate 68 into the disk receiving opening 54 a distancesufficient so that the bottommost disk of a stack of optical disks canrest on the arcuate peripheral edge 84 of the support plate 68 when thestack is positioned in the optical disk receiving opening 54 of thehousing 36. Inward movement of the cylinder 66 and the support plate 68is arrested by a stop member 86, such as a washer which is secured tothe end 78 of the cylinder 66 and sized to engage the end of enlargedouter portion 59 of the cavity 55 extending about the end of the boreportion 56. The stop member 86 is reciprocatingly movable within theenlarged outer portion 59 of the cavity 55.

The clamp block 70 is connected to the distal end of the piston rod 76and is slidably disposed on the support flange 82 of the support plate68. The clamp block 70 is preferably constructed of a low frictionmaterial, such as polyethylene, to reduce the friction between the clampblock 70 and the support flange 82 of the support plate 68 when theclamp block 70 and the support plate 68 are moved relative to oneanother and to facilitate the discharge of optical disks in a manner tobe described in detail below. The clamp block 70 has a planar surface 88and a pair of spaced apart lower protrusions 90a and 90b. Eachprotrusion 90a and 90b has an arcuate surface 92 and a lip 94 extendingtherefrom. Each lip 94 has an edge engaging surface 96 and a stacksupport surface 98.

As best shown in FIG. 6, the edge engaging surfaces 96 of the lips 94have an arcuate configuration which is conformable to the contour of theouter peripheral edge of optical disks. The height of the edge engagingsurfaces 96 is less than the thickness of an optical disk whereby theedge engaging surfaces 96 are dimensioned for abutting engagement withthe outer peripheral edge of a single optical disk. More specifically,the lips 94 of the clamp block 70 are positioned adjacent to the uppersurface of the support flange 82 of the support plate 68 whereby theedge engaging surfaces 96 of the clamp block 70 are abuttingly engagablewith a portion of the outer peripheral edge of the optical disksupported on the arcuate peripheral edge 84 of the support flange 82.

The sequential operation of the disk singulating apparatus 30 will nowbe described in further detail with reference to FIGS. 7A-7D. First, thestack 26 of optical disks 10 is placed into the disk feed channel 64formed by the support rods 62. The support rods 62 function incooperation with the feed gate subassemblies 32 and 34 to retain theoptical disks 10 in a neat stack with the outer peripheral edges 24 ofthe optical disks 10 aligned. The optical disks 10 are urged by gravitytoward the disk receiving opening 54 of the housing 36 where furthergravitation is prevented by the interposition of the feed gatesubassemblies 32 and 34. In particular, the springs 72 of the feed gatesubassemblies 32 and 34 bias the cylinders 66 and the support plates 68in a radially inward direction such that a portion of the support flange82 of the support plates 68 extends into the disk receiving opening 54 adistance sufficient to support the stack of optical disks.

To discharge the bottom disk 10b from the stack 26, the cylinders 66 aresimultaneously pressurized to actuate the piston 74 and the piston rod76 (FIG. 5) in a radially inward direction so as to cause the clampblocks 70 to move to a disk engaging position (FIG. 7B) wherein the edgeengaging surfaces 96 of the clamp blocks 70 are caused to abuttinglyengage a portion of the outer peripheral edge 24 of the bottom opticaldisk 10b, which is supported by the arcuate peripheral edge 84 of thesupport plate 68.

As previously mentioned, one of the advantages of optical disks is theirdurability. This durability is due in part to the fact that optical diskhave a plastic base which has an elastic quality that permits the baseto be bent when a force is applied to its peripheral edge and to springback to its original form upon removal of the force. As will becomeapparent below, it is the elasticity of an optical disk that the presentinvention relies on in order to effectively discharge an optical diskfrom the bottom of a stack. That is, upon the edge engaging surfaces 96of the clamp blocks 70 engaging opposing portions of the outerperipheral edge 24 of the bottom optical disk 10b, the clamp blocks 70continue to move radially inward whereby the clamp blocks 70 of the feedgate subassemblies 32 and 34 cooperate to apply a compressive force onthe optical disk 10b so as to cause the optical disk 10b to bow slightlyin a downward direction, as illustrated in FIG. 7B. The bowing of theoptical disk 10b enables the edge engaging surfaces 96 of each of theclamp blocks 70 to extend inwardly beyond the outer peripheral edge 24of the adjacent optical disk 10 whereby the stack support surfaces 98 ofthe clamp blocks 70 are caused to be positioned beneath a portion of theadjacently disposed optical disk 10.

With the clamp blocks 70 extended inwardly to slightly bow the bottomdisk 10b and to position the stack support surfaces 98 beneath theadjacent optical disk, the planar surface 88 of the clamp blocks 70engages an inward surface of the housing 36. Engagement of the planarsurface 88 of the clamp blocks 70 with the inward surface preventsfurther inward movement of the clamp blocks 70. Thus, the cylinders 66are forced to slide in a radial outward direction within the boreportion 56 of the cavity 55 in reaction to the continued application offluid pressure on the piston 74, as illustrated by FIG. 7C. As a resultof the cylinders 66 moving in an outward direction, the support plates68, which are connected to the cylinders 66, are retracted from the diskreceiving opening 54 of the housing 36 such that the support plates 68are moved to a non-supporting position relative to the bottom opticaldisk 10b.

Upon the support plates 68 being retracted to the nonsupportingposition, as shown in FIG. 7C, the compressed optical disk 10b isallowed to be discharged from its position at the bottom of the stack26. The elasticity of the optical disk in combination with the lowfriction engagement between the edge engaging surfaces 96 and the outerperipheral edge 24 of the optical disk 10b, causes the optical disk 10bto slide off of the edge engaging surfaces 96 of the clamp blocks 70 andgravitate away from the stack 26.

After a control device (not shown) which controls the charging of theactuating fluid to each of the cylinders 66 has timed out, the cylinders66 are depressurized. In response, each cylinder 66 slides in a radiallyinward direction due to the bias of the springs 72 until the stopmembers 86 arrest the cylinders 66 further movement. At this point, thesupport flanges 82 of the support plates 68 will again be positioned inthe disk receiving opening 54 in a disk supporting position (FIG. 7D).

With the cylinders 66 arrested by the stop members 86, the pistons 74and the piston rods 76 will retract and thus cause a retraction theclamp blocks 70. The retraction of the clamp blocks 70 results in theretraction of the stack support surfaces 98 out of engagement with thestack 26 of optical disks thereby causing the stack 26 of optical disksto gravitate downwardly onto the two opposed support plates 68 (asdepicted in FIG. 7A) where the next optical disk is ready for dischargefrom the stack.

It will be appreciated that the control device (not shown) for operatingthe cylinders 66 is of conventional design with pneumatic or electroniccontrols to sequentially operate the cylinders 66, and thus need not bedescribed in detail herein in that sequential control circuitry is wellknown to persons of ordinary skill in this art and related arts. It willalso be appreciated that the present invention does not require suchsophistication of control circuitry, and can be used with simplesequencing control, including the use of conventional, manually operatedswitches.

The disk singulating apparatus 30 described above is intended forautomatically feeding optical disks to various types of optical diskproduction equipment. For example, the disk singulating apparatus 30 canbe employed to feed optical disks to duplication equipment, packagingequipment, labeling equipment, printing equipment, or an inspectionstation. FIG. 8 illustrates the disk singulating apparatus 30 mounted toa conventional bagging machine 110. Bagging machines are well known inthe art. An example of such a bagging machine is the model sold byAllied Automation, Inc., Dallas, Tex. 75244 as its Model No. 6500. Abrief description of the bagging machine 110, together with themodifications thereto required for the present invention, is believedadequate for an understanding of the present invention. The baggingmachine 110 has a roller 112 for supporting a roll of plastic bags 114.The bags are pulled off of the roller 112 and through the baggingmachine 110 until a lead bag 116 is supported in a loading position.With the bag 116 in the loading position, a bag opening assembly 118blows compressed air at the bag opening to open the bag 116 and permitthe bag 116 to be filled. When the bag 116 is filled with product, aheated seal bar 120 is caused to be drawn into contact with the upperend of the bag 116 to close and seal the bag 116. With the bag 116sealed, the heated seal bar 120 is pivoted down to tear the sealed bagfrom an adjacent bag and allow the bag 116 to drop into a receiving bin(not shown).

To feed an optical disk into the lead bag 116, the disk singulatingapparatus 30 is mounted to the top end of the bagging machine 110, assubstantially shown. A guide assembly 122 is provided between the disksingulating apparatus 30 and the loading position of the bagging machine110 to guide the optical disk discharged from the disk singulatingapparatus 30 into the open bag 116. The guide assembly 122 may comprisea pair of parallel side rails 124 and 126, each having a groove 128(shown in FIG. 8). The support rods 62 of the rack assembly 60 areextended through the housing 36 to support the stack of optical disksand to guide the discharged optical disks into engagement with the siderails 124 and 126. A disk follower 129 is slidably attached to thesupport rods 62 to maintain the optical disks in alignment with the disksingulating apparatus 30. To prevent the formation of scratches in theoptical disk as it is traveling along the side rails 124 and 126, thegrooves 128 can be formed to have a substantially V-shapedconfiguration, as illustrated in FIG. 8, whereby only a small portion ofan optical disk gravitating through the guide assembly 122 will actuallybe in contact with the side rails 124 and 126. To coordinate theoperation of the disk singulating apparatus 30 and the bagging machine110, the control device (not shown) of the disk singulating apparatus 30is interfaced with the control device of the bagging machine 110 in amanner well known in the art.

While the singulating apparatus of the present invention has beendescribed for discharging an optical disk from the bottom of a stack ofoptical disks, it should be understood that the invention is not limitedto the use of optical disks, but rather can be utilized for dischargingany disk from the bottom of a stack of disks wherein the disk hassufficient flexibility to permit effective operation of the singulatingapparatus. For example, the disk could be a magnetic disk and, as longas such magnetic disk contained the sufficient flexibility to allow theoperation of the singulating apparatus in the manner hereinbeforedescribed, such disk is considered to be within the scope of the presentinvention and the use of the singulating apparatus for discharging suchdisk from the bottom of a stack of disks.

Referring now to FIG. 10, shown therein is another embodiment of a disksingulating apparatus 130 constructed in accordance with the presentinvention. The disk singulating apparatus 130 is particularly welladapted for separating or discharging an optical disk from the bottom ofa stack of aligned optical disks, such as the stack 26 illustrated inFIG. 1A. The disk singulating apparatus 130 is similar in constructionto the disk singulating apparatus 30 except for the modificationsdescribed below. Most notably, the disk singulating apparatus 130differs from the disk singulating apparatus 30 in that the disksingulating apparatus 130 is operated in a manner so as not to compressor deform the optical disk being discharged from the stack. However,similar to the disk singulating apparatus 30, the disk singulatingapparatus 130 includes a pair of feed gate subassemblies 132 and 134(shown in phantom) supported in a housing 136 in a spaced apart,diametrically opposing relationship.

With reference to FIGS. 10-12, the housing 136 includes a first portion138 and a second portion 140. The first portion 138 is a plate memberhaving an opening 142 formed therethrough and a pair of diametricallyopposed recesses 144 and 146 formed on one side thereof. Likewise, thesecond portion 140 is a plate member having an opening 148 formedtherethrough and a pair of diametrically opposed recesses 150 and 152formed on one side thereof.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the first and second portions 138 and 140 aresecured together with the openings 142 and 148 aligned with each otherto form a disk receiving opening 154 and the recesses 144 and 146 of thefirst portion 138 superimposed on the recesses 150 and 152 of the secondportion 140 to form a cavity 155 which is in open communication with thedisk receiving opening 154. Each side of the cavity 155 has a boreportion 156, a counter bore portion 157, an enlarged inner portion 158,and an enlarged outer portion 159. The diameter of the disk receivingopening 154 is sufficient to permit an optical disk to pass freelytherethrough.

As shown in FIG. 10, a hopper or rack assembly 160 is mounted to thehousing 136 for guiding a stack of optical disks into and through thedisk receiving opening 154 of the housing 136. The rack assembly 160 isshown herein to include a pair of support rods 162 and a stiction member163 mounted to the housing 136 about the periphery of the disk receivingopening 154 to define a disk feed channel 164.

In use, a stack of optical disks, such as the stack 26, is loaded intothe disk feed channel 164 and supported in the disk receiving opening154 of the housing 136 by the feed gate subassemblies 132 and 134 whichare supported in the cavity 155 of the housing 136 on diametricallyopposing sides of the disk receiving opening 154. In addition tosupporting the stack of optical disks, the function of the feed gatesubassemblies 132 and 134 is to release or discharge the optical disksfrom the bottom of the stack one at a time. The feed gate subassemblies132 and 134 assure that only a single disk will be discharged from thestack at one time, while the remainder of the disks in the stack remainsupported and in position so that upon the release of the bottom disk,the next disk in the stack, which is now the bottom disk, is in positionto be released in accordance with a programmed sequencing.

FIG. 13 is a partially sectional view of the feed gate subassembly 132supported in the housing 136, and FIG. 14 is a top view of the feed gatesubassembly 132. The feed gate subassemblies 132 and 134 are identicalin construction. Thus, only the feed gate subassembly 132 will bedescribed in detail hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14.

The feed gate subassembly 132 comprises a cylinder 166, a support plate168, a clamp block 170, and a spring 172. The cylinder 166 is preferablya single-acting, pneumatic cylinder of conventional design with aninternal piston 174 which selectively extends and retracts a piston rod176 when attached to a controlled pressurized air supply 177 (FIG. 14)at an end 178 of the cylinder 166 via a conduit 177a (FIGS. 10 and 14).The cylinder 166 is slidably disposed in the bore portion 156 (FIG. 12)and the counter bore portion 157 of the cavity 155 of the housing 136.The piston rod 176 extends from an end 179 of the cylinder 166 in aradially inward direction toward the disk receiving opening 154.

It should be noted that while the cylinder 166 is preferablypneumatically actuated, other types of actuation, including hydraulicand electrical, can be employed, but are less preferred. It should alsobe noted that while the cylinder 166 is preferably supported in thehousing 136 described above, the cylinder 166 could alternatively beslidably supported in a cylinder block in a manner disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 5,050,023, issued on Sep. 17, 1991, to H. D. Ashby, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

The support plate 168 is an L-shape member having a connecting flange180 and a support flange 182. The connecting flange 180 is rigidlysecured to the end 179 of the cylinder 166 whereby the piston 174 andthe piston rod 176 are reciprocatingly movable relative to the cylinder166 and the support plate 168. The support flange 182 has an arcuateperipheral edge 184, which is configured to conform to the contour of aportion of the outer peripheral edge 24 of the optical disk 10 (FIG. 1).The support plate 168 is slidably disposed in the enlarged inner portion158 (FIGS. 12 and 14) of the cavity 155 of the housing 136 so as topermit reciprocating movement of the support plate 168 therein. Thesupport flange 182 is extendible into the disk receiving opening 154 forsupporting a stack of optical disks such as the stack 26 (FIG. 1A)

The spring 172 is mounted in the counter bore portion 157 of the cavity155 and extends about the cylinder 166 so that one end of the spring 172bears against the end of the counter bore portion 157 and the other endof the spring 172 bears against the back side of the connecting flange180. The resilient bias of the spring 172 tends to bias the supportplate 168 and the cylinder 166 radially inward, thereby extending thesupport flange 182 of the support plate 168 into the disk receivingopening 154 a distance sufficient so that the bottommost disk of a stackof optical disks can rest on the arcuate peripheral edge 184 of thesupport plate 168 when the stack is positioned in the optical diskreceiving opening 154 of the housing 136. Inward movement of thecylinder 166 and the support plate 168 is arrested by a stop member 186,such as a washer which is secured to the end 178 of the cylinder 166 andsized to engage the end of enlarged outer portion 159 of the cavity 155extending about the end of the bore portion 156. The stop member 186 isreciprocatingly movable within the enlarged outer portion 159 of thecavity 155.

The clamp block 170 is connected to the distal end of the piston rod 176and is slidably disposed on the support flange 182 of the support plate168. The clamp block 170 is preferably constructed of a low frictionmaterial, such as polyethylene, to reduce the friction between the clampblock 170 and the support flange 182 of the support plate 168 when theclamp block 170 and the support plate 168 are moved relative to oneanother and to facilitate the discharge of optical disks in a manner tobe described in detail below. The clamp block 170 has a planar surface188 and a protrusion 190. The protrusion 190 has an arcuate surface 192and a lip 194 extending therefrom. The lip 194 has an edge engagingsurface 196 and a stack support surface 198.

As best shown in FIG. 14, the edge engaging surfaces 196 of the lip 194has an arcuate configuration which is conformable to the contour of theouter peripheral edge of optical disks. The height of the edge engagingsurface 196 is less than the thickness of an optical disk whereby theedge engaging surface 196 is dimensioned for abutting engagement withthe outer peripheral edge of a single optical disk. More specifically,the lips 194 of the clamp block 170 is positioned adjacent to the uppersurface of the support flange 182 of the support plate 168 whereby theedge engaging surfaces 196 of the clamp block 170 are abuttinglyengagable with a portion of the outer peripheral edge of the opticaldisk supported on the arcuate peripheral edge 184 of the support flange182.

The sequential operation of the disk singulating apparatus 130 will nowbe described in further detail with reference to FIGS. 15A-15F. First,the stack 26 of optical disks 10 is placed into the disk feed channel164 formed by the support rods 162 and the stiction member 163. Thestiction member 163 functions to support a portion of the stack 26 tofacilitate operation of the disk singulating apparatus 130. Morespecifically, the stiction member 163 has an angled surface 163a. Thestiction member 163 is mounted to the housing 136 such that a selectednumber of disks 10 pass by the stiction member 163 and are supported bythe feed gate subassemblies 132 and 134. The remainder of the disks 10are partially supported by the disks that have passed the stictionmember 163 and partially supported by the angled surface 163a of thestiction member 163, thereby reducing the force exerted on the bottomdisk 10b and facilitating lateral movement of the bottom disk relativeto the adjacent disk. The angled surface 163a of the stiction member 163is positioned so that upon the bottom disks 10b being discharged fromthe bottom of the stack, another disk is released from the stictionmember 163.

The optical disks 10 are urged by gravity toward the disk receivingopening 154 of the housing 136 where further gravitation is prevented bythe interposition of the feed gate subassemblies 132 and 134. Inparticular, the springs 172 of the feed gate subassemblies 132 and 134bias the cylinders 166 and the support plates 168 in a radially inwarddirection such that a portion of the support flange 182 of the supportplates 168 extends into the disk receiving opening 154 a distancesufficient to support the stack of optical disks.

To discharge the bottom disk 10b from the stack 26, the cylinder 166 ofthe feed gate subassembly 132 is pressurized to actuate the piston 174and the piston rod 176 (FIG. 13) in a radially inward direction so as tocause the clamp block 170 to move to a disk engaging position (FIG. 15B)wherein the edge engaging surface 196 of the clamp block 170 is causedto abuttingly engage a portion of the outer peripheral edge 24 of thebottom disk 10b, which is supported by the arcuate peripheral edge 184of the support plate 168. Engagement of the edge engaging surface 196 ofthe clamp block 170 with the outer peripheral edge 24 of the bottom disk10b forces the bottom disk 10b to move laterally relative to theremainder of the stack of disks, as illustrated in FIG. 15b. The lateralmovement of the bottom disk 10b enables the edge engaging surface 196 ofthe clamp block 170 to extend inwardly beyond the outer peripheral edge24 of the adjacent optical disk 10 whereby the stack support surface 198of the clamp block 170 of the feed gate subassembly 132 is caused to bepositioned beneath a portion of the adjacently disposed optical disk 10.

With the clamp block 170 extended inwardly to laterally move the bottomdisk 10b and to position the stack support surface 198 beneath theadjacent optical disk, the arcuate surface 192 of the clamp block 170engages the outer peripheral edge 24 of the adjacent optical disks 10which are supported on the opposite side by an interior surface of thehousing 136 which partially defines the disk receiving opening 154.Engagement of the arcuate surface 192 of the clamp block 170 with theouter peripheral edge 24 of the adjacent optical disk 10 preventsfurther inward movement of the clamp block 170. If the disk beingdischarged is the last disk in the stack, further inward movement of theclamp block 170 is prevented by engagement of the planar surface 188 ofthe clamp block 170 against a surface 199 of the housing 136.

With inward movement of the clamp block 170 being retarded, the cylinder166 of the feed gate subassembly 132 is forced to slide in a radialoutward direction within the bore portion 156 of the cavity 155 inreaction to the continued application of fluid pressure on the piston174, as illustrated in FIG. 15C. As a result of the cylinder 166 of thefeed gate subassembly 132 moving in an outward direction, the supportplate 168, which is connected to the cylinder 166, is retracted from thedisk receiving opening 154 of the housing 136 thereby moving the supportplate 168 to a non-supporting position relative to the bottom opticaldisk 10b.

Upon the support plate 168 of the feed gate subassembly 132 beingretracted to the non-supporting position, as shown in FIG. 15C, thebottom disk 10b is freed of the support flange 182 of the support plate168 while the opposing portion of the bottom disk 10b remains supportedbetween the support flange 182 of the feed gate subassembly 134 and theadjacent optical disk 10. Consequently, subsequent to the support flange182 of the feed gate subassembly 132 moving to the non-supportingposition, the cylinder 166 of the feed gate subassembly 134 ispressurized to actuate the piston 174 and the piston rod 176 in aninward direction so as to cause the clamp block 170 of the feed gatesubassembly 134 to move to the disk engaging position (FIG. 15D) whereinthe edge engaging surface 196 of the clamp block 170 of the feed gatesubassembly 134 is caused to abuttingly engage a portion of the outerperipheral edge 24 of the bottom disk 10b, and thereby move the bottomdisk 10b laterally relative to the remainder of the stack of disks in adirection opposite that moved by the actuation of the cylinder 166 ofthe feed gate subassembly 132. Inward movement of the clamp block 170 ofthe feed gate subassembly 134 continues until the arcuate surface 192 ofthe clamp block 170 engages the outer peripheral edge 24 of the adjacentoptical disk 10 which arrests the inward movement of the clamp block170. The lateral movement of the optical disk 10b enables the edgeengaging surface 196 of the feed gate subassembly 134 to extend inwardlybeyond the outer peripheral edge 24 of the adjacent optical disk 10whereby the stack support surface 198 of the clamp block 170 is causedto be positioned beneath a portion of the adjacently disposed opticaldisk 10.

Engagement of the arcuate surface 192 of the clamp block 170 with theouter peripheral edge 24 of the adjacent optical disk 10 preventsfurther inward movement of the clamp block 170 of the feed gatesubassembly 134. Thus, the cylinder 166 of the feed gate subassembly 134is forced to slide in a radial outward direction within the bore portion156 of the cavity 155 in reaction to the continued application of fluidpressure on the piston 174, as illustrated in FIG. 15E. As a result ofthe cylinder 166 of the feed gate subassembly 134 moving in an outwarddirection, the support plate 168, which is connected to the cylinder166, is retracted from the disk receiving opening 154 of the housing 136and the support plate 168 is moved to a non-supporting position relativeto the bottom optical disk 10b.

Upon the support plate 168 of the feed gate subassembly 134 beingretracted to the non-supporting position, as illustrated in FIG. 15E,the bottom disk 10b is caused to be discharged from its position at thebottom of the stack 26.

After a control device (not shown) which controls the charging of theactuation fluid to each of the cylinders 166 has timed out, thecylinders 166 are depressurized. In response, each of the cylinders 166slides in a radially inward direction due to the bias of the springs 172until the stop members 186 arrest the cylinders 166 further movement. Atthis point, the support flanges 182 of the support plates 168 will againbe positioned in the disk receiving opening 154 in a disk supportingposition (FIG. 15F).

With the cylinders 166 arrested by the stop members 186, the pistons 174and the piston rods 176 will retract and thus cause a retraction of theclamp blocks 170. The retraction of the clamp blocks 170 results in theretraction of the stack support surfaces 198 out of engagement with thestack 26 of optical disks thereby causing the stack 26 of optical disksto gravitate downwardly onto the two opposed support plates 168 (asdepicted in FIG. 15F) where the next optical disk is ready for dischargefrom the stack.

It will be appreciated that the control device (not shown) for operatingthe cylinders 166 is of conventional design with pneumatic or electroniccontrols to sequentially operate the cylinders 166, and thus need not bedescribed in detail herein in that sequential control circuitry is wellknown to persons of ordinary skill in this art and related arts.

The disk singulating apparatus 130 described above is intended forautomatically feeding optical disks to various types of optical diskmanipulation equipment. For example, the disk singulating apparatus 130can be employed to feed optical disks to disk manipulation mechanisms,such as duplicators, packaging mechanisms, labeling mechanisms, printingmechanisms, or testing mechanisms.

FIGS. 16 and 17 illustrate the disk singulating apparatus 130incorporated as part of a disk conveyance apparatus 200 constructed inaccordance with the present invention. The disk conveyance apparatus 200is illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17 as being used to convey optical disksto one of two disk manipulating mechanisms 202, which, by way ofexample, are illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17 as being a pair of CD-Rduplicating mechanisms. It will be appreciated, however, that any numberof disk manipulating mechanisms may be utilized with the disk conveyanceapparatus 200 and that more than one type of disk manipulating mechanismmay be utilized. For example, the disk conveyance apparatus 200 may beused to convey a disk to a duplicating mechanisms and thereafter conveythe disk to a labeling mechanism.

In addition to the disk singulating apparatus 130, the disk conveyanceapparatus 200 includes a base plate 204, a disk valve assembly 206, adisk storage station 208, a support structure 210, and a control system212. The base plate 204 is provided with an opening 214 (FIG. 17) whichis alignable with the disk receiving opening 154 of the disk singulatingapparatus 130 and an opening 216 formed at an opposing end of the baseplate 204. The disk singulating apparatus 130 is mounted to the baseplate 204 such that the disk receiving opening 154 of the disksingulating apparatus 130 is aligned with the opening 214 of the baseplate 204. The combination of the disk singulating apparatus 130 and thebase plate 204 are secured to the support structure 210 so that the disksingulating apparatus 130 and the base plate 204 are set at an angle,such as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, to permit the disk conveying apparatus200 to take advantage of the effects of gravity. The disk singulatingapparatus 130 and the base plate 204 are supported so that the disksingulating apparatus 130 is positioned above the disk storage station208 of the base plate 204 wherein the disk singulating apparatus 130 ischaracterized as being positioned upstream of the disk storage station208.

As described above, in reference to FIGS. 15A-15E, a stack of opticaldisks is placed into the disk feed channel 164 formed by the supportrods 162 and the stiction member 163. The optical disks are urged bygravity toward the disk receiving opening 154 where further gravitationis prevented by the interposition of the feed gate subassemblies 132 and134 (FIG. 17). Upon the bottom disk of the stack being discharged by thedisk singulating apparatus 130 in the manner described above, the diskmoves into a disk track 218 formed by the disk valve assembly 206wherein the disk is allowed to gravitate down the disk track 218 intoengagement with a first gate 222 or a second gate 224.

The first gate 222 includes a cylinder 226 and a retractable plunger227, and the second gate 224 includes a cylinder 228 and a retractableplunger 229. The first gate 222 is disposed through the disk singulatingapparatus 130 and the base plate 204. The plunger 227 of the first gate222 is interposed in the disk track 218 to arrest the movement of a diskgravitating down the disk track 218 upon the cylinder 226 beingenergized. Conversely, the plunger 227 is withdrawn from the disk track218 to permit passage of a disk by the first gate 222 upon de-energizingthe cylinder 226. The second gate 224 is disposed through the base plate204 downstream of the first gate 222. The plunger 229 of the second gate224 is interposed in the disk track 218 to arrest the movement of a diskgravitating through the disk track 218 upon energizing the cylinder 228of the second gate 224, and the plunger 229 is withdrawn from the disktrack 218 to permit passage of the disk by the second gate 224 uponde-energizing the cylinder 228 of the second gate 224. The plungers 227and 229 of the first and second gates 222 and 224 cooperate with thedisk valve assembly 206 to define a first disk holding station 230 and asecond disk holding station 232, respectively.

One disk manipulating mechanisms 202 is secured below each of the diskholding stations 230 and 232 (FIG. 17). The disk manipulating mechanisms202 are illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17 as being duplicating mechanisms,and thus, include a disk drive 234 and a retractable tray 236 adaptedfor receiving a disk and loading the disk into the disk drive 234.Duplicating mechanisms are well known in the art. An example of such aduplicator is the model sold by TEAC Corporation as its Model No.CD-R55S.

While only two disk manipulating mechanisms 202 have been illustratedherein with the disk manipulating mechanisms 202 arranged side by side,it should be appreciated that any number of disk manipulating mechanismsmay be utilized with the disk conveyance apparatus 200 and arranged in avariety of different configurations. For example, it is contemplatedthat several disk manipulating mechanisms be stacked in a generallyvertical arrangement whereby disks may be more efficiently processed. Inother words, the disk conveying apparatus 200 of the present inventionmay continue to transfer disk to and from certain disk manipulatingmechanisms while another disk manipulating mechanism operating.

A third gate 237 is shown secured to the base plate 204 downstream ofthe second gate 224, but with no corresponding disk manipulatingmechanism positioned below the third gate 237. However, it will beunderstood that the third gate 237 is adapted to be used for holding adisk which is to be transferred to an additional disk manipulatingmechanism, such as another duplicating devise, or a labeling or printingdevice.

A disk positioned in the first disk holding station 230 is transportedto the disk drive 234 of the corresponding disk manipulating mechanism202 by an elevator cylinder 238 having a cone shaped rod end 240, and adisk positioned in the second disk holding station 232 is transported tothe disk drive 234 of the corresponding disk manipulating mechanism 202by an elevator cylinder 242 having a cone shaped rod end 244. Each ofthe elevator cylinders 238 and 242 is supported so as to be in alignmentwith the disk holding stations 230 and 232, respectively, and the trays236 of the disk manipulating mechanism 202 when the trays 236 are in anextended position as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. Further, each of theelevator cylinders 238 and 242 has a stroke length sufficient to permitthe cone shaped rod end 240 or 244 to be inserted into the centralopening of a disk and supportingly engage the disk in the respectivedisk holding station 230 or 232 and lower the disk into the tray 236 ofthe disk manipulating mechanism 202 upon de-energizing the elevatorcylinders 238 and 242.

With the disk positioned in the tray 236 of the disk manipulatingmechanism 202, the tray 236 is retracted into the disk drive 234 wherethe duplicating process or other disk manipulation process. Upon themanipulation process ending, the tray 236 is extended whereby the coneshaped rod end 240 or 244 is able to return the disk to the disk holdingstation 230 or 232.

As mentioned above, the disk valve assembly 206 defines the disk track218 which permits an optical disk to gravitate downwardly after beingdischarged from the disk singulating apparatus 130. To this end, it isdesirable that the disk valve assembly 206 be constructed so as not todamage a disk as it slides down the disk track 218 and be operable so asto selectively release the disks held in the disk holding stations 230and 232 to permit the disk to be lowered into the disk manipulatingmechanism 202.

The disk valve assembly 206 is best illustrated in FIG. 18. The diskvalve assembly 206 includes a pair of parallel, spaced apart side rails246 and 248 and a pair of cylinders 250 and 252. The side rails 246 and248 are mirror images of one another. As such, only the side rail 246will be described in detail below.

The side rail 246 is a substantially elongated circular member having afirst end 254 and a second end 256. A substantially V-shaped notch 258is formed in the side rail 246. The notch 258 extends from the secondend 256 toward the first end 254. The notch 258 has a first trackportion 259 defined by a first surface 260 and a second surface 262which is angularly disposed relative to the first surface 260. The anglebetween the first surface 260 and the second surface 262 is preferablyabout 90 degrees. The notch 258 includes an enlarged second trackportion 264 defined by the surface 260 and a second surface 262a whichis angularly disposed relative to the first surface 260 at an anglegreater than the angle between the first surface 260 and the secondsurface 262. For example, the angle between the first surface 260 andthe second surface 262a may be approximately 100 degrees. The enlargedsecond track portion 264 provides an opening for receiving a disk fromthe disk singulating apparatus 130.

Referring now to FIGS. 18, 19A and 19B, the cylinder 250 includes asocketed rod end 266 adapted to pivotally receive a ball 268 secured tothe end of a rod 270 which is secured to the first end 254 of the siderail 246. Likewise, the cylinder 252 has a socketed rod end 272 adaptedto pivotally receive a ball 274 connected to a rod 276 which is securedto the first end of the side rail 248. The cylinders 250 and 252 areinterconnected to the side rails 246 and 248, respectively, in anopposing relationship so as to move the side rails 246 and 248 between aclosed position and an open position, each of which will be described ingreater detail below.

The disk valve assembly 206 is secured to the underside of the baseplate 204 with the enlarged second track portion 264 of the side rail246 and 248 aligned with the disk receiving opening 154 of the disksingulating apparatus 130. The base plate 204 is provided with a pair ofparallel grooves 278 dimensioned to receive the side rails 246 and 248.The side rails 246 and 248 are supported in the grooves 278 with aplurality of spaced apart support members 280 (FIG. 17) connected to thelower side of the base plate 204. The cylinders 250 and 252 are securedto a support surface, such as the bottom side of the housing 136 of thedisk singulating apparatus 130.

FIG. 19A illustrates the disk valve assembly 206 in the closed position,while FIG. 19B illustrates the disk valve assembly 206 in the openposition. In the closed position, the side rails 246 and 248 areoriented to slidingly receive an optical disk such as disk 279illustrated in FIGS. 19A and 19B. To prevent the formation of scratchesin the disk as it is travelling along the side rails 246 and 248, theside rails 246 and 248 are positioned so that the first surface 260 isangled downward and inward relative to the disk 279 whereby only theouter edge of the disk 279 gravitating through the disk valve assembly206 contacts the side rails 246 and 248.

The disk valve assembly 206 is moved to the open position by energizingthe cylinders 250 and 252 thereby causing the side rails 246 and 248 torotate so as to move the V-shaped notch 258 inwardly and downwardly, asillustrated in FIG. 19B, to release the disk 279.

It will be understood that rotation of the side rails 246 and 248between the closed position and the open position is only one way ofactuating the side rails between the closed position and the openposition. Alternatively, the side rails 246 and 248 could be adapted tobe moved in opposing lateral directions.

Returning to FIGS. 16 and 17, the disk storage station 208 is positionedat the lower end of the base plate 204 and is adapted to store the diskswhich have been processed in the disk manipulating mechanism 202 and inturn gravitated down the disk track 218, or alternatively, cause thedefective disks to pass to a reject bin (not shown). The disk storagestation 208 is defined by the lower or downstream side of the base plate204 and by a pair of elongated support rods 281. Together, the supportrods 281 form a disk storage channel 282 similar to the disk feedchannel 164 of the disk singulating apparatus 130, and enable theoptical disks to be collected and stacked therein.

The disks traveling down the disk valve assembly 206 are transferredonto a pair of slide rails 284 (only one of the slide rails beingvisible in FIG. 17). The slide rails 284 allow the disks to gravitateover a pusher plate 286 which is connected to a cylinder 288. If thedisk is accepted, the movement of the disk is arrested by a gatecylinder 290 which includes a retractable plunger 292. The plunger 292is extendable so as to arrest the disk in alignment with the opening 216of the base plate 204 and immediately over the pusher plate 286, fromwhich position the disk can be loaded into the disk storage channel 282by energizing the cylinder 288.

A plurality of spring loaded plunger assemblies 294 are provided aboutthe opening 216 of the base plate 204. The plunger assemblies 294cooperate with one another to enable to the apparatus of the presentinvention to incrementally build upwardly extending stacks ofsuperimposed optical disks in the disk storage channel 282. The plungerassemblies 294 are mounted to the base plate 204 so as to extend atpreselected angles with respect to the planar face of the pusher plate286. In general, the free outer end of each of the plunger assemblies294 is aligned immediately over the outer side edge of the pusher plate286 so that the free outer end of the plunger assemblies 294 ispositioned to contact the peripheral edge of the disk when such disk ispushed upwardly by the pusher plate 286. A more detailed description ofthe construction of the plunger assemblies 294 is contained in U.S. Pat.No. 5,050,023, issued to Harrel D. Ashby on Sep. 17, 1991, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

If a disk is determined to be defective, the plunger 292 of the gatecylinder 290 is caused to be in a retracted position whereby thedefective disk passes through the disk storage station 208 into a rejectbin (not shown).

As an alternative to the disk storage station 208 described above, theaccepted disks could be dropped onto a spindle which is connected to aconveyor.

Conventional control systems are utilized to synchronize the operationof the various components of the disk conveying apparatus 200 describedabove. The control system 212 includes a pressurized air source 296, aplurality of control valves, represented by the numeral 297, forcontrolling the mode of operation of the various cylinders describedabove, a computerized controller 298 for outputting signals to suchvalves predetermined intervals so as to synchronize the operation of thevarious components of the disk conveyance apparatus 200, and a powersource 300. Control valves and controllers constructed to operate in themanner herein are well known in the art. Thus, a detailed description ofsuch components is not believed necessary to enable one skilled in theart to understand the operation of the disk conveyance apparatus 200 ofthe present invention.

In the operation and use of the disk conveyance apparatus 200 of thepresent invention, a number of optical disks which are to be processedor otherwise manipulated are loaded into the disk feed channel 164 wherefurther gravitation of the disks is prevented by the interposition ofthe feed gate subassemblies 132 and 134 (FIG. 17) of the disksingulating apparatus 130. The feed gate subassemblies 132 and 134 areactuated in the manner described above so as to discharge a disk to bedischarged from the bottom of the stack of disks. To facilitate thedischarge of the bottom disk, the feed gate assembly positioneddownstream of the other feed gate subassembly is actuated first in thesequence of operation. The disk which has been released by the feed gatesubassemblies 132 and 134 drops into the disk track 218. In oneexemplary sequence of operation, the discharged disk travels diagonallydown the valve disk assembly 206 past the first gate 222 to the secondgate 224 where it is arrested by the plunger 229 of the second gate 224.In the case where multiple disk manipulating mechanisms are provided,such as illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17, another disk will be dischargedfrom the disk singulating apparatus 130. This disk drops to the disktrack 218 and travels diagonally down until it is stopped by the plunger227 of the first gate 222.

With a disk in each of the disk holding stations 230 and 232, the trays236 of the disk manipulating mechanisms 202 extend into an open positionfor receiving a disk, and in turn, the elevator cylinders 238 and 242are energized to extend up and engage the corresponding disk. Thecylinders 250 and 252 of the disk valve assembly 206 are then energizedso as to rotate the side rails 246 and 248 into the open position andthereby release the disks. Immediately thereafter, the elevatorcylinders 238 and 242 are de-energized to cause the rod ends 240 and 244to retract and cause the disks to travel down into the trays 236 of thedisk manipulating mechanisms 202. The trays 236 then retract into thedisk drives 234 and the disk manipulating mechanisms begin manipulatingthe disks in specified manner.

Upon termination of the manipulation process, the trays 236 extend outinto alignment with the rod ends 240 and 244 of the elevator cylinders238 and 242. The elevator cylinders 238 and 242 are again energized totransport the disks back into the disk holding stations 230 and 232.Upon the elevator cylinders 238 and 242 reaching their extend positions,cylinders 250 and 252 of the disk valve assembly 206 are de-energized tocause the side rails 246 and 248 to rotate to the closed position (FIG.19A). The elevator cylinders 238 and 242 are then de-energized causingthe rod ends 240 and 244 to retract and thus leave the disks supportedon the side rails 246 and 248 in the disk holding stations 230 and 232.

At this point, the second gate 224 is de-energized to cause the plunger229 to retract and allow the disk being held in the disk holding station232 to travel down to the disk storage station 208 where the disk isstopped by the plunger 292 of the gate cylinder 290 if the disk isdetermined to be acceptable. If the disk is determined to be defective,the gate cylinder 290 is de-energized so as to cause the plunger 292 tobe retracted and thus cause the disk to pass through the disk storagestation 208 into a reject bin (not shown). If an accepted disk isstopped by the plunger 292, the cylinder 288 is energized to cause thepusher plate 286 to move the disk past the plunger assemblies 294 intothe disk storage channel 282. Upon the cylinder 288 being de-energizedand the pusher plate 286 returning to a retracted position, the firstgate 222 is de-energized thereby causing the disk held in the diskholding station 230 to travel down to the disk storage station 208 whereit is passed to the reject bin or pushed into the disk storage channel282.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that the controlsystem used for timing the actuation of the several cylinders, so as toassure a rapid, orderly and non-interfering progression of disks throughthe apparatus, does not constitute a part of the present invention, perse, but is merely an ancillary system, the development and constructionof which is well within the skill of those having ordinary skill in thisart. From the above description it is clear that the present inventionis well adapted to carry out the objects and to attain the advantagesmentioned herein as well as those inherent in the invention. Whilepresently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described forpurposes of this disclosure, it will be understood that numerous changesmay be made which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled inthe art and which are accomplished within the spirit of the inventiondisclosed and as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for discharging a disk from a stackof aligned disks, each disk having a pair of parallel, planar surfacesand an outer peripheral edge, the apparatus comprising:a first feed gatesubassembly and a second feed gate subassembly supported in a spacedapart, diametrically opposing relationship so as to define a diskreceiving opening therebetween, the first and second feed gatesubassemblies adapted to cooperatively support the stack of disks in thedisk receiving opening and to engage at least a portion of the outerperipheral edge of the disk positioned at the bottom of the stack ofdisks to discharge the bottom disk from the stack of disks, each of thefirst and second feed gate subassemblies comprising:a cylinder having apiston slidably disposed therein so as to be adapted for reciprocatingmovement relative to the cylinder; a piston rod having one end connectedto the piston so that the piston rod is reciprocatingly movable relativeto the cylinder, the piston rod extending in a radially inward directiontoward the disk receiving opening; a support flange rigidly connected tothe cylinder, the support flange extendible into the disk receivingopening for supporting the stack of disks; a clamp block connected to adistal end of the piston rod and having an inwardly extending lip, thelip having an edge engaging surface and a stack support surface, theclamp block positioned relative to the support flange so that the edgeengaging surface of the clamp block is abuttingly engagable with aportion of the outer peripheral edge of the disk positioned at thebottom of the stack of disks and supported by the support flange uponactuation of the clamp block to a disk engaging position wherein theedge engaging surface of the clamp block is caused to abuttingly engagea portion of the outer peripheral edge of the bottom disk; and means forresiliently biasing the cylinder and the support flange in a radialinward direction such that the support flange extends into the diskreceiving opening a distance sufficient to support the stack of diskswhen the edge engaging surface of the clamp block is in a non-engagingrelationship relative to the outer peripheral edge of the bottom diskand for permitting the cylinder and the support flange to slide in aradial outward direction such that the support flange is moved to anon-supporting position relative to the stack of disks upon positioningthe clamp block into the disk engaging position; and actuating means forselectively actuating the clamp block of the first feed gate subassemblyinto the disk engaging position to move the bottom disk laterallyrelative to the remainder of the stack of disks and in turn cause thecylinder and the support flange of the first feed gate subassembly tomove in the radial outward direction such that the support flange of thefirst feed gate subassembly is moved to the non-supporting position tofree the bottom disk of the support flange of the first feed gatesubassembly while the stack support surface of the clamp block of thefirst feed gate subassembly is maintained in a position beneath at leasta portion of the adjacently disposed disk to support the remainder ofthe stack of disks, and for selectively actuating the clamp block of thesecond feed gate subassembly into the disk engaging position, subsequentto the support flange of the first feed gate subassembly moving to thenon-supporting position, to move the bottom disk laterally relative tothe remainder of the stack of disks and in turn cause the cylinder andthe support flange of the second feed gate subassembly to move in theradial outward direction such that the support flange of the second feedgate subassembly is moved to the non-supporting position to free thebottom disk of the support flange of the second feed gate subassemblyand thus discharge the bottom disk from the stack while the stacksupport surface of the clamp block of the second feed gate subassemblyis maintained in a position beneath at least a portion of the adjacentlydisposed disk to cooperate with the stack support surface of the firstfeed gate subassembly to support the remainder of the stack of disks. 2.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the edge engaging surface of the clampblock of each of the first and second feed gate subassemblies isconfigured to conform to the contour of the outer peripheral edge of thedisks.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the edge engaging surface hasan arcuate shape.
 4. An apparatus for discharging a disk from a stack ofaligned disks, each disk having a pair of parallel, planar surfaces andan outer peripheral edge, the apparatus comprising:a housing having afirst portion and a spatially disposed second portion, the first andsecond portions defining a cavity therebetween and the first portion andthe second portions having a disk receiving opening extendingtherethrough in open communication with the cavity of the housing; afirst feed gate subassembly and a second feed gate subassembly disposedin the cavity of the housing on diametrically opposing sides of the diskreceiving opening, the first and second feed gate subassemblies adaptedto cooperatively support the stack of disks in the disk receivingopening and to engage at least a portion of the outer peripheral edge ofthe disk positioned at the bottom of the stack of disks to discharge thebottom disk from the stack of disks, each of the first and second feedgate subassemblies comprising:a cylinder having a piston slidablydisposed therein so as to be adapted for reciprocating movement relativeto the cylinder; a piston rod having one end connected to the piston sothat the piston rod is reciprocatingly movable relative to the cylinder,the piston rod extending in a radially inward direction toward the diskreceiving opening; a support flange rigidly connected to the cylinder,the support flange extendible into the disk receiving opening forsupporting the stack of disks; a clamp block connected to a distal endof the piston rod and having an inwardly extending lip, the lip havingan edge engaging surface and a stack support surface, the clamp blockpositioned relative to the support flange so that the edge engagingsurface of the clamp block is abuttingly engagable with a portion of theouter peripheral edge of the disk positioned at the bottom of the stackof disks and supported by the support flange upon actuation of the clampblock to a disk engaging position wherein the edge engaging surface ofthe clamp block is caused to abuttingly engage a portion of the outerperipheral edge of the bottom disk; and means for resiliently biasingthe cylinder and the support flange in a radial inward direction suchthat the support flange extends into the disk receiving opening adistance sufficient to support the stack of disks when the edge engagingsurface of the clamp block is in a non-engaging relationship relative tothe outer peripheral edge of the bottom disk and for permitting thecylinder and the support flange to slide in a radial outward directionsuch that the support flange is moved to a non-supporting positionrelative to the stack of disks upon positioning the clamp block into thedisk engaging position; and actuating means for selectively actuatingthe clamp block of the first feed gate subassembly into the diskengaging position to move the bottom disk laterally relative to theremainder of the stack of disks and in turn cause the cylinder and thesupport flange of the first feed gate subassembly to move in the radialoutward direction such that the support flange of the first feed gatesubassembly is moved to the non-supporting position to free the bottomdisk of the support flange of the first feed gate subassembly while thestack support surface of the clamp block of the first feed gatesubassembly is maintained in a position beneath at least a portion ofthe adjacently disposed disk to support the remainder of the stack ofdisks, and for selectively actuating the clamp block of the second feedgate subassembly into the disk engaging position subsequent to thesupport flange of the first feed gate subassembly moving to thenonsupporting position to move the bottom disk laterally relative to theremainder of the stack of disks and in turn cause the cylinder and thesupport flange of the second feed gate subassembly to move in the radialoutward direction such that the support flange of the second feed gatesubassembly is moved to the non-supporting position to free the bottomdisk of the support flange of the second feed gate subassembly and thusdischarge the bottom disk from the stack while the stack support surfaceof the clamp block of the second feed gate subassembly is maintained ina position beneath at least a portion of the adjacently disposed disk tocooperate with the stack support surface of the first feed gatesubassembly to support the remainder of the stack of disks.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 4 wherein the edge engaging surface of the clampblock of each of the feed gate subassemblies is configured to conform tothe contour of the outer peripheral edge of the disks.
 6. The apparatusof claim 5 wherein the edge engaging surface of the clamp block has anarcuate shape.